Flying AA1011 N.W. With Miracles?

~ Live & Learn

6 a.m. this morning.

7.5 hours of uninterrupted sleep. WTH is that?

Dallas, TX. Hotel check-out.

This Hotel, a fine property.

Receptionist punches my room number into the system and then quickly lifts her head, and makes eye contact.

She pauses. And looks back down, reading. And that ain’t no coincidence.

The hotel record has to be Red Flagged with an Alert. Has to be.

“Be damn careful here. That gnarly look is squarely aligned with his disposition. Man has been a patron here for 3 years. Many (MANY) nights. We’ve had a string of 5 straight stays of really bad luck.

  • #1 & #2: A/C out 2 nights.
  • #3: Party next door and in hallway from 1:30 am to 3:30 am. (He typically wakes at 4am. He doesn’t Party.)
  • #4: Room Service delivered meal to the wrong room, and he had to wait another hour.
  • #5: The pièce de résistance. Room Service barreled through his locked door (the wrong door) at 2 a.m. Yes, he was sleeping. But not any longer.

He’s advised the Hotel Manager that he’s a Simple Man. He’s not interested in fresh towels (he reuses his), he’s not interested in turn down service, or mint chocolate squares on his pillow, or a Shoe Shine. He’s not interested in a coupon for a free dessert, and not interested in you walking around the counter to hand him his key. He wants his key (fast), he wants a Quiet room, he wants working AC and he would like his order for room service to be delivered within the hour.

“Did you have a nice stay Mr. Kanigan?” She leans heavily on the “Mr.”

“Yes, thank you. Very good.”

“Thank you for your stay Mr. Kanigan.”

She drops her head ceasing any further communication.

“Thank you.” Smiling, I turn away. I hear her punching on her Keyboard. “Very good he said.”

Uber arrives in 4 minutes. 83 F outside, 101 F high today.

Music down low. Smooth Jazz. Chuck Mangione on the trumpet with Feels So Good. And God, does it ever.

Air conditioning blowing cool.

We sit in silence.

Driver races down the causeway to the office, in light traffic.

And 12 hours later, here I sit, punching this out on satellite wired wi-fi. 34,983 feet up, with outside air temperature at – 54 F. Sitting over the wing of a 300,000 pound steel bird, which slightly wobbles, but keeps pressing the pace at over 500 mph over the Earth which continues to rotate on its axis. Miracle, right? A shoulder shrug.

But that look from that receptionist. Your stay is important to us.

And that UBER driver glancing in the rear view mirror, and moving his hand to the volume nob and turning it up 2 clicks. I get you. I get you.

And so there it is.

It’s not the Miracles that come rising to the surface, and keep returning, but Lidia Yuknavitch’s “ordinary things (that) are staggering.”

Staggering.

Photo: via Your Eyes Blaze Out

38 thoughts on “Flying AA1011 N.W. With Miracles?”

    1. Terribly Ray. But we’ve found that we are the new Kennel for Rachel’s French Bulldog puppy. So we get our fix 3-4 days a month, and for now it seems to satisfy. Let’s see how long this lasts.

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  10. The ordinary moments that we take in as extraordinary – yes, therein lies the magic! Thank you so much for reminding me. This moment. Right here. It’s worthy of a ‘wow’.

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  13. My comment went awol…. As a co-insomniac (although far less than you, I just let it happen and I don’t get upset) I feel well what you mean. We have to try harder to get our rest and thus are better to be with …. at all times, everywhere, for all around us.

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  14. 7.5 hours sleep… this has become an almost regular thing – for which I am happy for you!
    That Chuck Mangione piece – I cannot remember the last time I heard it. Oh yeah… you have made my evening with that one. Put that one into the little things that make you feel good.
    Staggeringly satisfying, everyday (ummm. not all of us get flagged, but yanno what I mean) regular wonders.
    Rocking it.

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